Editing Spring peeper (section)

{{Short description|Species of amphibian}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Spring peeper
| image = H crucifer USGS.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group |date=2022 |title=''Pseudacris crucifer'' |page=e.T55892A193392474 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T55892A193392474.en |access-date=2 December 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web|title=Pseudacris crucifer|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105099/Pseudacris_crucifer|website=[[NatureServe]] Explorer|access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref>
| taxon = Pseudacris crucifer
| authority = ([[Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied|Wied-Neuwied]], 1838)
| range_map = Pseudacris crucifer map.svg
| range_map_caption = Range of ''P. crucifer''
| synonyms = *''Hyla crucifer'' <br />{{small|[[Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied|Wied-Neuwied]], 1838}}
* ''Hylodes pickeringii'' <br />{{small|[[John Edwards Holbrook|Holbrook]], 1839}}
* ''Acris pickeringii'' <br />{{small|— [[Giorgio Jan|Jan]], 1857}}
* ''Hyliola pickeringii'' <br />{{small|— [[:fr:François Mocquard|Mocquard]], 1899}}
* ''Hyla pickeringii'' <br />{{small|— [[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1899}}
* ''Hyla crucifer'' <br />{{small|— Myers, 1927}}
* ''Parapseudacris crucifer'' <br />{{small|— Hardy & Borroughs, 1986}}
* ''Pseudacris crucifer'' <br />{{small|— [[Stephen Blair Hedges|Hedges]], 1986}}
* ''Hyla crucifer'' <br />{{small|— [[Reginald Bifield Cocroft III|Cocroft]], 1994}}
}}

The '''spring peeper''' ('''''Pseudacris crucifer''''')<ref>ITIS [https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=207303 ''Pseudacris crucifer'']  (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.</ref> is a small [[chorus frog]] widespread throughout the eastern United States and Canada.<ref name="Opinicon Natural History-2009">{{Cite web|date=2009-09-17|title=Northern Spring Peeper / Rainette Crucifère|url=https://opinicon.wordpress.com/species-accounts/spring-peeper/|access-date=2021-03-19|website=Opinicon Natural History|language=en}}</ref> It prefers permanent ponds due to its advantage in avoiding predation; however, it is very adaptable with respect to the habitat it can live in. In northern regions, the frog is able to endure below freezing temperatures due to the capacity of its liver to exude and flush the bloodstream with a glucose  [[cryoprotectant]] which acts both as an anti-freeze in its blood, and allows organs like the heart to enter into a state of protected dormancy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schmid |first=William D. |date=1982-02-05 |title=Survival of Frogs in Low Temperature |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.7058335 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=215 |issue=4533 |pages=697–698 |doi=10.1126/science.7058335 |pmid=7058335 |bibcode=1982Sci...215..697S |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The peeper earned its name from its chirping call, which marks the beginning of spring. ''Crucifer'' is derived from the [[Latin]] root meaning "cross-bearing", a reference to the cross-like pattern on the spring peeper's dorsal side.

These chirping calls are significant for communication in mating as females choose their mates based on the frequency and volume associated with them. Satellite males who do not make any calls also strategically place themselves near those that make louder calls in an attempt to intercept females.

Temperature plays a large role in when the spring peeper begins breeding as well as the duration of mating. Warm spells result in a massive increased calling rate.<ref name="brill.com">{{Cite journal |last1=Wells |first1=Kentwood D. |last2=Taigen |first2=Theodore L. |last3=O'Brien |first3=Jennifer A. |date=1996-01-01 |title=The effect of temperature on calling energetics of the spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/amre/17/2/article-p149_6.xml |journal=Amphibia-Reptilia |language=en |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=149–158 |doi=10.1163/156853896X00180 |issn=1568-5381|url-access=subscription }}</ref>